bye-bye. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," high anxiety. libya's leader intensifies attacks against rebels while effects of the conflict hit here at home. spectators scare, chaos at a venezuelan bullfight when a bull charges the stands. and one and a half men, troubled actor charlie sheen gets a permanent pink slip from his hit tv show. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with duck and cover. opposition fighters in libya

have been facing intensified counterattacks from forces loyal to libyan leader moammar gadhafi. this morning libyan war planes launched more air strikes on the heels of yesterday's air assault on rebels who have been regrouping at the oil port of ras lanuf. the bombs have either been missing their target or were being used successfully to instill fear. rebel fighters have been trying to drive toward tripoli, gadhafi's stronghold, but have been pushed back by government forces. and while the u.s. tries to consider how best to react to the fighting in libya, the ç crisis is having major implications at home at gas pumps across the nation. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: concerned about escalating warfare in libya and more air attacks against libyan civilians in what looks like a military comeback by moammar gadhafi, president obama reminded libyan generals they could be tried for war crimes. >> i want to send a very clear message to those who are around

colonel gadhafi. it is their choice to make how they operate moving forward and they will be held accountable. >> reporter: mr. obama faces two choices. does he set up a no-fly zone over libya to ground gadhafi's jets? arab states say do it, but team obama is cautious. >> any action should be the result of an international sanction. >> reporter: do something to help now argued a bush administration veteran. >> and you could provide covertly anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons to the rebels so they could impose their own no-fly zone. >> reporter: obama choice number two, with gasoline prices averaging $3.50 a gallon and rising, crude oil prices touching $118 a barrel because libya has stopped selling oil. should the president sell some of our emergency stash? the 726 million barrel u.s. strategic petroleum reserve

stored on the gulf coast. oil analyst dan rice says do it when gas hits $4. >> at that point, we'll be inflicting real pain on middle american and low income families. >> reporter: that point could be days away as the libyan crisis drags into week four. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. still unable to fulfill his 2008 campaign promise to close guantanamo bay, president obama says the administration will resume military trials for terror suspects detained at the prison. yesterday's move, which lifts a two-year freeze on new trials comes after months long of a standoff with congress over transferring detainees to civilian federal courts in the u.s. according to administration officials, the president still wants the to close the prison, but that is unlikely to satisfy critics who say military commissions at guantanamo

violate the geneva convention. charlie sheen has officially been fired from his role on the cbs sit com"two and a half men." warner brothers television released to the news in a statement monday terminating sheen's services effective immediately. the statement comes two weeks after the show was put on hiatus while sheen practiced self-rehab in his los angeles home. we'll have more on sheen's reaction coming up in entertaio]ent. you'll want to stick around for that. keeps getting crazier. now for a look at other stories making news early today in america. in florida, a mother took matters into her own hands when she slapped a child for allegedly hitting her daughter. she said she was defending her child when she boarded the bus to confront the boy. police did not agree with her method of mediation. she's been arrested and charged with child abuse. in kentucky, one infant is lucky to be alive after an suv accidentally crashed into her home knocking the sleeping baby and her crib through a wall.

the crash horrified her parents. after she discovered only a pile of wood and drywall where the baby's bed was. she was pulled from the debris wrapped in a blanket miraculously with only a scratch. in connecticut, heavy rain and melting snow combined to cause major flooding in the western part of the state. rising waters turned streets into raging rivers that swallowed up cars and forced evacuations in some areas. emergency crews are on standby for additional flooding. and, finally, this is really cool. this is in california. one recently popular animated film was recreated without any movie magic. a house weighing 1 ton took flight with the aid of only 300 weather balloons. it reached 10,000 feet for over an hour, setting a record for the largest balloon cluster flight. love that movie, "up."

>> me too. >> ginger is with us. good to have you all this week while bill is away. how is the forecast? >> the forecast looks pretty messy for the center of the nation. we were talking earlier about those weather balloons, and i think they'll be using some extras. we always do weis a day at every airport. they're going to get extras here because louisiana back to eastern oklahoma, problem areas as far as the storm goes. now, here at the west coast, denver, you're be on the northern part of that storm. therefore, just snow, winter weather advisories and warnings. a mu one hitting seattle down to medford, and that means rain. you're waking up with rain there, and temperatures m 40s for the most part. it will be a sunny one for vegas and phoenix. here's the forecast for you. 33, denver, with more clouds than sun, and, yes, some snow m upper reaches. then salt lake city, 41. 73, phoenix with sunshine, and we'll flip over and give you a sneak preview of your wednesday. go up to idaho and 55 for wednesday with a partly sunny sky. keeping the rain up many seattle, but moving it in medford, going for 63 on your

wednesday, and by wednesday in l.a., 77. plenty of sunshine there as well. that's a how about yuma, arizona. here up there in the 70s. nice with all that sunshine. that's a look at your tuesday forecast. >> ginger, huh. well, oil runs the çstreet. recalls run wild, and an airline horror story you really are not going to believe. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. sfwlirchlgts plus, more on the manic up and downs of charlie sheen in the wake of his firing from one of tv's top shows. coming up, the knicks honor a legend, kevin love makes history, and the best catch of spring training. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a lawyer for joran vander sloot says hesitate client will plead guilty to killing a young peruvian woman last year but argued temporary sanity. he is a suspect in the ç 2005 disappearance of natalee holloway in aruba. president obama is planning to nominate commerce secretary impairry loch the next u.s. ambassador to china. loch will replace john huntsman who is leaving the post next month. the formal announcement is expected later today. no surprise here, but a new gallop poll finds sunny hawaii is the happiest state in america. i can buy that. the survey, which looks at residents' work environment as well as their physical and emotional health ranked with west virginia dead last. amateur video out of

venezuela shows the panic that ensued when a bull jumped into the audience during a bullfight over the weekend. the animal eventually found its way back into the ring. one worker was hurt m melee. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,090 after sinking 79 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 11 points and the nasdaq dropped 39. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 20 points while in hong kong the hang seng zoomed 398. it's a pretty safe bet that oil will be the big story on the street once again today. oil settled above $105 a barrel in new york monday as libyan unrest shows no signs of letting up and reports surfaced about planned protests in saudi arabia. copper took a big dip, driving down free freeport mcmoran

copper and gold 3%. meanwhile, chip stocks were hit by a downgrade to the semi conductor sector. communications equipmentmaker see anna fell 9% after a weak sales forecast. even a big corporate deal failed to ease investors' fears. western digital agreed to by hitachi's disk drive operation for $4.3 billion. confident consumers took on more loans for a fourth straight month in january while credit card debt hit a new six-year low. after chevron was found guilty in ecuador for massive pollution, a new york judge ruled that they cannot go after chevron's assets in other countries. southwest is raising domestic fares by 10 bucks each way. call it recall monday. honda recalled some 35,000 civic hybrids for electrical problems. toyota recalled about 22,000 suvs and trucks over faulty

tires, and chrysler recalled some 20,000 jeep wranglers over steering issues. finally, a woman has been offered free fights on virgin blue airlines after claiming a flight attendant put her 17-month-old son in the overhead bin and closed the latch. virgin fired the employee but claims he was only playing a game of peekaboo. coming up, double, double tie. spring training is heating up. smoking joe takes a bow. plus, another highlight from the mba's booming rookie. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and severe thunderstorms are on top for parts of the country. it could mean tornados. i'll have details coming up. you're watching "early today."ç versus toyota. which is better?

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and prius was also named a best overall value of the year. plus, every new toyota comes with toyotacare, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. we're #1 for a reason. come see for yourself. hurry in for the best selection. ♪ good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, it's approaching crunch time in the nba with teams getting serious about making and positioning for the playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good tuesday morning. dwight howard serving a one-game suspension for pick up his 16th technical foul of the season and the magic definitely missed him against the trailblazer hes. let's go to orlando. marcus had a field day without wade up the middle. actually close midway through

the fourth, gerald wallace gave portland the leadç for good. they completed a sweep of the magic. 89-85. hornets without their star, chris paul held out after suffering a concussion on sunday. david rose gave the hornets headaches all night. continued his mvp campaign with 24 points and nine assists. chicago won it, 85-77. bit of history in minnesota, kevin love picked up his 51st consecutive double-double. that ties him with moses malone for the longest streak in nba history. unfortunately for them, not enough. they lost 108-105. now to new york where joe fraser is gin a standing ovation. amare had 31. carm elo anthony had 34. new york's two stars didn't play the second half because this one over by half time. knicks won. another game, another highlight reel dunk from blake griffin. off the fastbreak, clippers beat the bobcats 92-87. finally, manly beat with

spring training and that does not stop nick swisher from playing like it's the world series. taking on the phils. nick swisher of his horse, back handed grab and over the fence. take mother look. swisher looks like he is many midseason form as he made the grab before flipping head over heels. opening day is three weeks from thursday. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. charlie sheen's reaction to being fired and a case of sheen-produced tv. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, in the wake of losing a teammate, one high school squad and its supporters ride a wave of emotion. you're watching "early today." c:

sunshine in parts of los angeles today. 71. 64 for vegas. same deal with the sky cover. phoenix, too, at 73. you're going to have to hold on for some snow in salt lake city and more rain and snow in boise. portland to medford, all rainshowers. our wednesday, here's how it goes. more sun moving east -- busting east into denver. it's going to be more clouds today. you'll look for a high tomorrow of 51. and honolulu, i just wanted to mention, 82 with some rainshowers. if you are watching us on khml

news now in honolulu, hawaii, see woven art depicting mythical dragons symbolizing strength and the search for wisdom at chasing the flaming pearl at the honolulu academy of arts. that's your pacific event of the day. >> ginger, thanks. now here's ab early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. as we mentioned at the top of the show, the producers of charlie sheen's tv show have fired him. after careful consideration, warner brothers television has terminated charlie sheen's services on "two and a half men" effective immediately. well, sheen, referring to his long threatened lawsuit against warner brothers and cbs, called it a big day of gladness at the sober valley lodge because mou i can take all of their bazillions. his words. he levelled an expletive and celebrated mefr having to put on those silly shirts his character

wore on the show. later, appearing on youtube, firing what he calls tore peatos of truth, a rambling sheen told viewers what to expect from his self-produced broadcasts. >> i want to deliver some mrooep and deliver it in a way that [ bleep ]. in the epicenter of how i deliver things, which is perfect and truthful and radical and in your face, so far many your face. it grabs your teeth and shovz them down your throat. oh, what a lovely little snack. wow. tastes like my teeth, but i don't care because sheen delivered it. >> tastes like my teeth. hmm. >> i mean, i don't even know what to say to this. >> there's really no word whether the show will go on without him. that hasn't been decided yet. were youç surprised when you heard he was fired? >> not surprised, of course, with all the antics, but you wonder how are they going to get rid of the character if they continue. >> exactly. and whether or not it's even worth it. would it be too expensive. >> it will be interesting to see. this has been a train wreck from the beginning, and we all keep watching it.

can't stop. >> this comes to us from wood 24 hour news. 8 in grand rapids, michigan. in nearby holland a high school basketball team took their first step towards turning a tragedy into a triumph. the fennville squad played with heavy hearts in their first game since a teammate died on the court from cardiac arrest. before a capacity crowd and an outpouring of support, fennville won to advance in the state tournament. of course, it was a bittersweet victory, but they felt the best way for them to pay tribute. the truth. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

here is a modern day knight's tale called the white castle. this isn't about burgers. hundreds of competitors dawn full armor and swords to test their skill on horseback and foot. the wanna be medieval mites participate in a three-day jousting tournament to see who would have reigned supreme in the middle ages. it is the scone of carnival and europe is getting into the spirit. thousands of people gathered in costumes in germany. everybody in the neighboring towns took to the festivities.ç marching to the sound of drums and trumpets. 100 floats also passed by as onlookers chanted songs all in sunny weather. it's pretty impressive to be able to wear ski barefoot, even

more so when doing it without a boat. being towed by a helicopter, this daredevil broke a new world record for fastest barefoot water skier. it helps when you have an aircraft pulling you along. the man reached 153 miles per hour ousting the previous record holder with a speed more than 20 miles per hour faster. and, ginger, it's kind of funny. when i was a kid, i tried water skiing. it's almost like a blooper reel, the home video. it was just me falling flat on my face. i haven't tried it since. >> it bruises your feet. i can't imagine what his feet look like. >> stick to the boat. >> now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. residents of bell, california, will vote in the city's recall election. the vote is over council seats vacated after revelations last summer that some council members of the work whoing -- working class suburb were making six and

seven figure salaries. today marks the 100th anniversary of national women's day. the occasion aims to celebrate women and review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, justice and peace. and the streets of new orleans will be packed for mardi gras, also known as fat tuesday. mardi gras is celebrated around the world on the day before lent. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. "today" takes you live to two gas stations with the highest and lowest prices in the country and cathy lee gifford and hoda kotb bring you to the behind the scenes of the "today" show. find out what it's like when the cameras stop rolling. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com